Good point. But I also figured hooking up 12v directly to the starter motor
with nothing happening would sort of rule in favour of a bad starter. I
replaced the solenoid-to-starter cable a while ago as a result of similar
problems. The difference now is that the starter has been working slower and
slower for the last week or so. The engine cranks by hand no problem and was
running fine the other night, so it's not seized or anything.
And, I don't know what is is about Radio Shack (and other similar stores here
in the Great White North), but they don't seem to carry clip leads for
voltmeters - I've looked for them in the past with no luck. You would think
that they would be a popular item.
Cameron
----- Original Message ----
From: Randall <tr3driver@comcast.net>
To: triumphs@autox.team.net
Sent: Friday, August 11, 2006 12:33:40 AM
Subject: RE: [TR] Do I have a bad starter?
> All other electricals work. Well, work as well as Lucas had designed them :-)
Which means absolutely nothing, when it comes to why your starter doesn't work !
The starter draws roughly 100 times as much current as the only other thing that
shares it's ground, the ignition coil.
I'm not saying you don't have a bad starter, only that it might be worth a
simple (I think) test to see how much juice it's actually getting. Use some
clip-leads ($8 @ Radio Shack) to connect a DC voltmeter (or digital multimeter,
$5 @ Harbor Freight) directly to the starter motor. Then bring it out where you
can see it while trying to crank the engine, and see what it reads. If you get
12v and no action, it's probably a duff starter. If it's down around 9 or 10
volts, it might be a jammed starter drive as Bob suggests (but most likely IMO,
it's a bad starter). But, if you see less than 3 or 4 volts, there is a problem
outside the starter.
Randall
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